The Testament of Ann Lee
A musical historical drama about Ann Lee (Amanda Seyfried), one of the founding members of the Shaker religious sect in the 1700s. We follow their start in Manchester, then their move to America and rise to prominence there.
I couldn’t tear myself away from this one. It’s not your typical dreary biopic but a film that seems to live and breathe and have its own heartbeat. It’s not a straight musical either, or a straight drama. It’s a moving work of art that somehow marries extraordinary visuals with a powerful story, and historical detail, in a way few people seem able to pull off.
The Shakers are religious fanatics, chanting and dancing and screaming and singing to the point where it gets them frequently arrested and in trouble. This film somehow respects Ann Lee’s beliefs and takes an un-sneering look at the Shakers, but doesn’t try to sell you on their religion. What you see instead is what the Shaker movement really brought about - innovation, quality buildings and furniture, and a sense of community.
The musical numbers are sensational, if you can even call them ‘numbers’ by the way Fastvold fades in and out of them. They kind of sneak up on you and before you know it you are watching hundreds of people totally in sync. Cold bright modern visuals paired with period sets and old-school Busby Berkeley style choreography. The rhythmic nature and repetition in the music really pulls you into the room, you feel the mania and hysteria and perhaps even god himself coursing through the crowd.
As they cross the Atlantic they shot the same song across different seasons and cut them together as one scene. It’s an ingenious way to show the passage of time, keep telling the story, and keep the flow of the film going without a dodgy montage.
Amanda Seyfried wobbles a bit doing a Manchester accent, but really is a fantastic driving force behind this project and a great bit of (possibly left-field?) casting. She carries the courage of her convictions, and the pain of her life in her eyes. I know she was supposed to be in Wicked but this is way better.